Here and there we come across the stories of listings whose owners look to have been late to the party.
And by party, of course, we mean the local real estate bubble.
The classic example is 4419 Highland, the "Gateway to Manhattan Beach" at 45th/Highland, a spec home so profoundly poor in conception, let alone…
Here and there we come across the stories of listings whose owners look to have been late to the party.
And by party, of course, we mean the local real estate bubble.
The classic example is
4419 Highland, the "Gateway to Manhattan Beach" at 45th/Highland, a spec home so profoundly poor in conception, let alone location, it will be hard to beat. (See "
Gateway Creeps Under $1m.") There, at least, you can argue that the spec builder bought while the market was still rising, in Aug. 2005, but it took too long to get the building up.
We also recently mentioned
521 MBB, a duplex near Ardmore, offered recently at
$980k, a drastic drop of
-$515k/-34% from the Aug. 2006 acquisition price of $1.495m. (See "
Forget the $300k, Forget It All.") On a bright note, this one's under contract at this writing.
So now we move up the Hill quite a bit to
234 Larsson for another check-in on a late-bubble flip that flopped.
The home (3br/3ba, 2300 sq. ft.) is technically a stand-alone TH, but it's often been marketed as an SFR (as it is now).
MBC noted in May 2009 that the home had stuck around for 9 months way back in 2007, before selling in its tired, desperate condition for
$1.075m. (See "
Flippin', Floppin'.")
After an unquestionably beautiful remodel, the home came back on public offer, but was punished over a full year on market (June 2008-June 2009) for location and for being overpriced.
It began at $1.5m, and only gradually cut to $1.199m. The listing quit last Summer.
234 Larsson is back now at
$1.250m, after a long period of default and a trip to the courthouse steps. The new listing's held by someone with "REO" in the company name, so it's either a bank or a foreclosure shark behind the offering this round. (We'll clarify as we get details.)
MBC said more than a year ago:
We might guess that Larsson is worth $1.150m or so in light of the [509] Dianthus sale (whatever price it closes at) and Larsson's poor location. But a $75k markup wouldn't be much reward for the Larsson remodel or a year's holding costs. Quite the opposite.
You may have noted that the new start is a smidge above the same home's last list price, and $100k higher than MBC gently suggested for its value last year.
Well, it's been an OK Spring so far. Maybe this is the year that 234 Larsson doesn't beat its previous records for days on market.
Please see our blog disclaimer.
Listings presented above are supplied via the MLS and are brokered by a variety of agents and firms, not Dave Fratello or Edge Real Estate Agency, unless so stated with the listing. Images and links to properties above lead to a full MLS display of information, including home details, lot size, all photos, and listing broker and agent information and contact information.
Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of April 28th, 2024 at 4:40pm PDT. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.
